Kilauea Summit Adventures: Circle-island Tour

Kilauea Summit Adventures is a full-day excursion that takes your around the Big Island in 10 to 12 hours. They are being certified by the Hawaii Ecotourism Association which means that their tours are eco-friendly, culturally educational and sustainable as possible.

On this page you can find a summary of the circle-island tour offered by Kilauea summit adventures as well as a preview of three of the tour highlights: Waipi’o valley, the Hamakua coast and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park:

This tour is a good option if you only are spending one or a few days on the Big Island but still would like to see most of the highlights.

You can find more information about the Kilauea Summit Adventure and make your bookings through the image above or by clicking here.

Short tour description

The Kilauea summit tour goes around the Big Island and starts and ends at the Kona coast. After picking up the passengers at various spots on the Kona and Kohala coast the tour starts in Waimea with a visit to the Parker Ranch. It the continues clockwise around the island showing you highlights such as the Hawai’i volcanoes national park, the Hamakua coast, and Waipi’o valley. You can find a better description of these 3 highlights further down this page.

Waipi’o valley overlook, one of the most scenic points on the Big Island

Waipi’o valley was once home to old Hawaiian kings but now is inhabited by a handful of traditional farmers.

The valley is rich Hawaiian history and the overlook at the top of the valley is one of the most scenic points on the Big Island with a dramatic view of the 900-foot sea cliff cascading down to a black sand beach below.

Waipi’o valley is one of the most scenic points of the Big Island. Image credit: Mike Sessions

Waterfalls and the lush Hamakua coast

To get from Waipi’o valley to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park you drive through our favorite part of the Big Island: the Hamakua coast. This is the lush and tropical side of the Big Island, and you will get to see tropical rainforests and roadside waterfalls as you drive down the coast.

The tour makes a stop in Hilo at one of the Big Island’s most well known waterfalls: the Rainbow Falls.

The volume of the rainbow falls (or Waianuenue) changes on a daily basis. This is what the falls look like after a good rain upstream

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

We think that a visit to the Hawaii Volcanoes National park is the #1 must-do activity on the Big Island, and any circle island tour would be incomplete without visiting.

A good visit to the park takes 2 full days but the Kilauea summit adventures takes you past the highlights. Their guides are well informed and provide interpretation on the geology, volcanism, and (endemic) flora found in the park.

The visit to the park will take you on to see the Kilauea Visitor Center, Thurston Lava Tube, Chain of Craters Road, Kilauea’iki, Steam Vents, Jaggar Museum, and end at the Halemaumau Crater to see the lava glow after sunset.

Dinner is included with the tour and takes place within the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. After dinner, as the sun has set, you will make you last (and probably most spectacular!) stop the the Jaggar museum overlook to see the glow of the Halema’uma’u lava lake.

One of the last stops of the circle-island tour is at the Jaggar museum in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where you can see the glow from the lava lake in the Halema’uma’u crater. Image credit: Mike Sessions.

The tour van and the on-board guide:

The tour takes place in a 14 seat micro-coach van with large windows that allow panoramic views. It is fully narrated in English by the on-board professional guide, who will tell you all about the island’s flora, fauna, geology, geography, culture and natural history throughout the tour.

Kilauea summit adventure guides have over 50 years of combined guiding experience and are a preeminent small group adventure outfit on Hawaii Island.

You can find more information about the Kilauea Summit Adventure and make your bookings through the image above or by clicking here.

Disclosure

We are affiliate partners with Kilauea Summit Adventures, which means that we receive a percentage for each successful booking made through our website. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting LoveBigIsland.com so we can continue to provide you and future visitors with free and high quality information about the Big Island. You guys are amazing!

It is also possible to book this tour directly through the Kilauea Summit Adventure website. Do this for example if you don’t feel comfortable booking this tour through our website or if you disagree with the concept of affiliate links (read more on the use of those links on our website here).

Only those tours booked booked on this page fall under the affiliate agreement. Tours booked on the Kilauea summit adventure website do not. Kilauea summit adventures website.